The Orlando Magic's incredible run came to a sad conclusion Sunday night with a loss in Game 5 and in a strange turn of events, I'm okay with that. Now I know what you're thinking "Jerry's not acting like it's the end of the world when his team loses? There must be a guest editor." But stick with me, I'm truly not even close to the edge.
If you had told me going into the Philadelphia series that this team would come within 3 wins of a championship minus Jameer Nelson for the entire Eastern Conference playoffs and a healthy/effective Jameer in the Finals, I would've laughed. If you had told me that after Game 3 of the Philly series, Games 4 and 5 of the Boston series and after LeBron's miracle, I probably would've elbowed you like Sam Dalembert.
Given the numerous spectacluar chokejobs that seemingly all of my teams have pulled the last 2 and a half years, you couldn't have blamed me for going into defeatist mode at any of those particular points, but a funny thing happened, they kept winning.
At all the situations in the East playoffs where my teams normally fold like a tent in a tornado, the Magic kept finding ways to escape. Going into Game 6 of the Philly series minus Superman and Courtney Lee, I had all but resigned myself to an everything does happen Game 7 in Orlando, but the boys in blue boat raced the Sixers by halftime and it was never close.
Until the final 5 minutes of Game 5, they didn't even seemed remotely fazed by Big Baby Davis' Game 4 buzzer-beater and even after the meltdown in Boston and Dwight demanding the ball, they kept their heads. With relentless waves of the Celtics and the rep of the team hanging in the balance in Games 6 and 7, the Magic always found the shot or a play at the moment they needed to stem the tide.
The Eastern Conference Finals was the moment when they proved they belong. After the tests they faced in the first 2 rounds and the way the Magic have been able to measure up against the Cavs the last few years, a 22-point lead in Cleveland didn't seem so insurmountable and while Rashard's game-winning 3 was thrilling, it wasn't as shocking as it was to the national media, who I'd like to personally thank for not giving the Magic an ounce of credit at any point in the postseason because they were so bitter that their dream of a Celtics-Cavaliers east final and LeBron-Kobe finals didn't happen, you guys are outstanding.
As the series went on (and even during the Finals) you started to believe that no matter how poor the Magic were playing or how well Cleveland was playing, they were going to find a way to pull it off and it wasn't the least surprising when they did. It was the kind of confidence in a team I haven't had since the Mets of 1999-2001 made spectacular comebacks an art form.
Even after LeBron's miracle 3, it wasn't a momentum-draining play, they had proved the Cavs couldn't put them away, even in the building where they had gone 39-2. Watching the Magic winning in transition and at the arc in Game 1 and then in a grind-it-out style in Game 3 proved this team could do whatever it takes to win a championship. Game 4 was the most intense basketball game I've watched since Game 7 of the 2002 Western Conference Finals and the most intense experience as a fan since Game 7 of the 2006 NLCS.
As the 4th quarter went on, the belief that they could actually win this series grew only to be met with each retaliatory strike from LeBron (who, say what you want about his sportsmanship, played the greatest individual series I've ever watched), followed by the sheer elation of Rashard's 3 and then the fear that maybe they had left too much time on the clock as they had in Game 2 (you gotta love the fact that LeBron's only strategy on the final play of regulation was either get fouled or lose the game), then the sheer anger on the no-call to end regulation. The back and forth pace of overtime, the final play/lebron's half-court heave seeming to take a half hour to unfold and then the sigh of relief/pure joy after the miss.
When Game 6 became determined, it was an indescribable feeling. I could say it was the thrill of finally watching a team of mine close in a big spot after the heartbreak that has been continuous since October 2006, but it's a lot deeper than that.
Over the last few months I've dealt with the detoriating health of my father, one of my grandmothers battling breast and bone cancer and the passing of my other grandmother, so it's been a nice distraction. Being able to immerse myself for 2-3 hours every other night for the last 2 months and forget the chaos of my life has been a welcome element. Each of the playoff games were experiences, you rode the highs and whethered the lows. And yes, if the Mets had gone on a roller-coaster run like this, I probably would’ve had an ulcer. Despite them falling short of the ultimate goal, they rank just behind the '02 Bucs and '99 Mets as my favorite team of all-time.
Sure, there are plenty of what-ifs that pundits and Magic fans alike will debate as to what kept them from a winning a championship, but that's not what this is about. Until last season, the Magic hadn't won a playoff series since 1996. Now, should the window already be closed, armchair quarterbacking is certainly allowed, but I think this team has staying power.
Dwight Howard dedicated himself throughout the playoffs to making his free throws and the misses at the of Game 4 aside, shot nearly 70% at the line. You don't think he's going to absolutely kill himself the next 3 and a half months to get himself some post moves and change the opponent's defensive schemes next season? I sure do. You can look at his Finals Game 5 no-show if you want, but Rashard Lewis silenced those who called him overpaid over the span of these last 2 months, hitting nearly every big shot. Jameer Nelson, who will be conviently blamed for the Finals loss, had finally figured it out when he went down with the shoulder injury in February. Most importantly, the front office is willing to go all-out to keep Hedo Turkoglu to keep the contending core intact, something one of the prior regimes half-heartedly attempted to do with Shaq (who has gone back to enemy status with his recent sour grapes tweeting).
Some can dwell on the loss to the Lakers, but that would be dismissing all the accomplishments leading up to that. In 1995, we expected them to win and were were stunned when the Rockets embarassed them on the biggest stage. This time around is different, we have not heard the last of this team as a championship contender. I hope as Magic fans move further away from this moment in the years to come, we look at this not as an opportunity lost, but a 2-month thrill ride that none of us will ever forget.
